Editorial 2: India’s shame — the trap of bonded labour

Context

India’s economy thrives by exploiting its most vulnerable, relying on bonded and forced labour to sustain industrial growth.

Introduction

On May 1, as the world observes International Labour Day to celebrate the dignity of work and workers’ rights, the plight of millions trapped in bonded labour in India casts a dark shadow over the occasion.

Mukesh Adivasi – Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh

• In 2023, lured by job promises, Mukesh and his family were trafficked 1,400 km to Karnataka.
• Trapped in bonded labour on a sugarcane farm, he worked 14–16 hours daily.
• A ₹500 advance turned into relentless exploitation and brutal violence.
• Demanding wages led to a savage beating, leaving his leg shattered.
• Rescued by police, Mukesh still suffers physical and emotional trauma.

K. Thenmozhi – Puttur, Andhra Pradesh

• At 13, Thenmozhi’s family took a ₹2,000 advance to work in a Bengaluru brick kiln.
• Faced 12–14 hours of labour, abuse, and confinement.
• A social worker’s visit led to the owner fleeing, giving the family a chance to escape barefoot.
• They returned home, but the scars remain.

Bonded Labour in India: Survivors and Structural Roots

• The harrowing stories of survivors like Mukesh Adivasi and K. Thenmozhi highlight the plight of lakhs of individuals trapped in bonded labour across India.
• Their experiences expose the brutality of exploitation and emphasize the urgent need for systemic reforms to ensure justice and freedom for all workers.
• Bonded labour is caused by a complex web of factors, involving both immediate triggers and deep-rooted structural issues.

Immediate Triggers

• Medical emergencies, religious ceremonies, dowries, food shortages, or the sudden loss of income force impoverished families to seek loans or advances from employers or labour agents.

Structural Causes

• Caste, ethnic, and religious discrimination
• Social exclusion and illiteracy
• Lack of access to legal aid or information
• Employer monopolies over credit and labour markets
• Dominance of local elites, reinforcing economic dependency
• These factors transform what should be a simple economic transaction into a system of coercion and control, perpetuating modern-day slavery.

Bonded Labour in India: Progress and Challenges

The ground reality

• Unorganised workers, especially migrants in India’s informal sector, lack unionisation, which deprives them of collective bargaining power.
• Without unions, they face exploitative conditions, no formal contracts, and the constant threat of arbitrary dismissal.
• In the 1940s, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar fought for labour rights, ensuring trade union recognition and the right to strike.
• However, the Labour Codes of 2019-20 have weakened Ambedkar’s legacy, reducing workers' rights and focusing on profit over people, leaving workers more vulnerable to exploitation.

Conclusion

Since early 2022, this writer’s investigations into forced labour in Indian industries have revealed a grim reality: they thrive on exploitation, betraying the rights of workers. Migrant workers, displaced by climate change, poverty, and joblessness, face low wages, precarious work, and the threat of dismissal. This systematic abuse reflects a model that prioritises profit over people, ignoring the rise of modern slavery. India’s economic growth is shamefully built on bonded and forced labour, exploiting its most vulnerable.